Source: Stephen Maturen / Getty
George Floyd, the Houston native who was effectively murdered by Minneapolis police earlier this week, was in the front of the minds of those who gathered to protest his senseless death. As large crowds gathered in the southern section of the Minnesota city, police and protestors clashed not unlike demonstrations of the past sparked by similar circumstances.
While an official tally of gatherers is largely unknown, thousands, or at the very least, hundreds, took to the streets of South Minneapolis as they met at a memorial site for Floyd. Known as “Big Floyd” by family and friends, the restaurant security guard and family man was targeted by police after allegedly attempting to use a counterfeit bill at a store.
While outside sitting on the hood of his car, Floyd was accosted and thrown to the ground while complaining of having issues breathing that went ignored by the white officer kneeling on his neck as other officers looked on. The horrific scene was captured by several smartphone and security cameras in the area where the incident took place, depicting an uneven struggle of power and Floyd lay defenseless under the weight of the officer.
The crowds began their march at the memorial site and made their way to the 3rd Precinct station to continue their protests. Around 7:30 PM local time according to local outlet WCCO, some protesters allegedly began breaking windows and other equipment with police decked out in riot gear responding by firing chemical irritants and rubber bullets into the crowd.
Minnesota state representative Sydney Jordan took to Twitter to decry the police response to the George Floyd protest in relation to the much quieter response given to armed individuals with some sharing imagery popular with right-wing extremists.
Below, we’ve shared some tweets from protesters and journalists who were on the ground during the protest.
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Photo: Getty
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